Any gourmet destinations outside of London?

SueF and I will be heading for London this summer (World Science Fiction Convention, if you are curious), and we'll be renting an apartment for a week in London with another couple, but we're planning on getting to the UK a couple days before that, and spending a night or two somewhere we can get to by train.

Is there any place a few hours outside of London that corresponds to, say a UK San Sebastian? Or is everything happening in London itself?

UK info on this forum is a little scant -- most "England" posts are "New England," there's a lament that Cambridge has nothing worth eating (which was withdrawn for a singular good meal), and a lot of the posts are years old. So I'm open to suggestions both within and outside of London.

I haven't had a chance to go, but if I had to name a destination it'd be Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck in Berkshire (apparently about a 40 - 50 minute train ride). Let us know if you decide to try it -- would love to hear about the experience!

http://www.thefatduck.co.uk/

Maybe head up to Birmingham & explore the "Balti Triangle"? Slightly under 2 hrs each way via London Midland Express. Not "gourmet" exactly, more like the equivalent of checking out Devon Avenue or Argyle St.

The Waterside Inn, in Bray. Robert Smyth, subject of the most recent Home Cookin' article told me it was one of the finest meals he ever had. @ nearly $2,000, it should have been, but then, Robt likes good wines. The food @ dinner is about $200 pp not including wine. He described it to me recently as "magical". The Roux's are legendary, as is this restaurant in the Berkshires next to the Thames (and not too far from The Fat Duck).

One of the best restos in England: http://www.manoir.com/web/olem/le_manoir.jsp

40 mins on the A-40 from Central London. In a delightful village. Even more delightful village next door:
thehasleys.co.uk

Great Haseley has a great 16th C pub, The Plough, which should be visited. And pls toast the duplex next door, where I lived during grad skule at Oxford!

Geo

look for the michelin guide for London (might cover the entire UK) and see if there's anything, as a starting point.

From watching Steve Coogan's "The Trip" I gather there are a number of good places to eat in Cumbria or up north in Yorkshire. L'Enclume, Inn at Whitewell, Holbeck Ghyll, Hipping Hall. It doesn't take that long, relatively speaking, to get anywhere in England. 2-3 hours by train, and a lot of these places are inns, too. No idea of the practicality, price, etc..

The Good Food Guide and Good Pub Guide are popular references.